March 27, 2017

Today’s Theme: Trust

Trust is one of the most important things in a relationship. It’s the same for our relationship with God. We have to learn to trust Him and His plans for our lives. That’s my challenge for you this week. :)

Hey, guys! Happy March! The weather outside is beautiful and I’m so ready for Spring Break! February was full of fun adventures and memories. I can’t believe it all went by so quickly!

February started off great with my birthday! I hosted a vision board party, hosting two things off of my goals list for this year. I had a lot of fun hanging out with my friends and family. Shout-out to my wonderful mother who created a huge meal of tiny sandwiches for my birthday lunch!

A couple days later, I went to watch the play from my high school! It was a lot of fun and I saw a bunch of people that I know (shout-out to M, A, M, L, and H).

On the 11th, I headed over to the park with my sister to walk around and take pictures. It was so beautiful outside and it seemed that everyone was out enjoying the weather! The light reflecting off the water took my breath away. Plus, there were so many dogs – an extra bonus! ;)

Valentines Day came and went without a mishap. My sisters and I made breakfast in bed for my mom and we each got a little bouquet of flowers from our dad. On the 16th, I spent the day writing letters and making cards for my friends and family. And the next day, I went to my first college visit – very exciting.

Then came the big mountain trip! We spent three days in the cool weather with rivers and plenty of trees to sit by. (I even made a video about it. Watch it here.) I ended up spending a lot of time writing which was really fun for me. It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to let my dreams take shape in writing form. ;) Our short trip in the mountains was a fun one and I can’t wait to go back.

February closed with lots of flowers; flowers in my friends’ hair, flowers in vases, flowers outside, flowers everywhere! I love how such little things like flowers can brighten up the world. :)

I also tried to continue the Photo A Day Challenge this month but then I missed a day. Still, I was able to take some really pretty pictures. Here are some of my favorites. :)

February 20, 2017

Today’s Theme: Future

“You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.” – Unknown –

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” – Proverbs 19:21

As graduation crawls closer, people are always asking me what my plans are for the future. And the truth is, I don’t know and I don’t want to think about it. The future is a very scary thing for me, filled with uncertainty and unknowns. But as a Christian, I have to remind myself that I’m not in control; God is. So really, the future shouldn’t be that scary because God is already there. And that is a very calming thought.

Hey, everyone! How has your 2017 been so far? This year, I wanted to start something new on my blog: Motivation Mondays. Twice a month (on a Monday) I will post a motivational post to cheer you on and to encourage you to keep going. It will include a quote, a Bible verse, and sometimes a little blurb from me on the topic. I’m sure you all will enjoy it!

*Note: Every picture in every Motivation Monday post is from Pinterest. The pictures are not mine.*

January 2, 2017

Today’s Theme: Progress

A little progress each day adds up to big results.

“I am certain that God who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished.” – Philippians 1:6

Good morning! I hope you’re having a wonderful day so far. Here are the last 6 days from the 21-day self-portrait project. I liked these couple of pictures because they had really great stories behind them. Enjoy! :)

Day 16

My Oma has taught me the importance of prayer. My grandmother is a prayer warrior. When life is crazy, she prays. When life is great, she prays. And when life is hard, she prays.

My Oma loves listening to my stories about my life and when I share a story about stress or disappointment, she reminds me to pray. It’s really encouraging to be reminded about the importance of turning to God in every situation.

Day 17

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to learn to play as many instruments as I could. When I first moved into my new home, my dad taught me how to play a song on the piano. I then was able to teach myself to play other songs. My parents realized piano lessons would be a really good opportunity for me so I started taking lessons at a nearby University.

My piano teacher was really nice and patient with me as I learned and practiced difficult pieces. I remember once I was having a really hard day. When I showed up for piano lessons, I was on the verge of tears. When my teacher asked me how I was, I burst into tears and for the entire lesson, she played piano for me to make me feel better.

My piano teacher taught me to express my feelings through music. I also learned to pick up different sounds in music, voices, and notes. She also taught me the importance of using music instead of anger. Without her, I wouldn’t be as far along as I am in music.

Day 18

I took online classes for three years but it was lonely and difficult trying to study at home where my bed is like two feet away and way more comfortable than my desk where I studied. I played around with the thought of going back to school for a while, mainly because I wanted to have experience being around people before I went to college.

I was at a sleepover with my friend when she asked me, “What if we were in the same classes together?!” I laughed half-heartedly and said, “That would be cool.” I didn’t actually think I would go back to school part time nor did I have any intention of doing so. But I went along with it.

The next day, I told my mom about it and she said, “Well, do you want to check the school out?” and I was like, “I guess.” The next thing I know, my mom is calling the school (keep in mind that this is in late July) and I am sent to take an entry exam. By then I realized, “This is actually happening” and I started to get excited about being back at school full time.

Three weeks before the first day of school, I was accepted. Even now, I’m not really sure how this happened but I’m glad it did. I go to an amazing school and the people are all so nice and friendly. All of my classmates have gone out of their way to get to know me. I love the school so much!

Day 19

Social media has a huge impact on the teens and children of this age. The social standards can totally destroy a person’s self-esteem. I know, because it did that to me.

For the longest time, I didn’t feel pretty enough, I didn’t feel any self-worth, compared to the girls online. I thought that in order to be “popular”, in order to feel loved, I needed to do whatever society said I needed to.

But my mom helped me to see the truth; I am beautiful the way I am. My mom taught me to look to the Bible for hope and encouraging. She encouraged me to memorize Bible verses so that I could remember them whenever I feel bad. And I’m so glad she did.

Through the Bible, I was able to remember my self-worth, to know that I am beautiful because God made me.

Life is hard. People are mean. And words hurt. But God still loves me. He still cares about me. He still wants me.

Day 20

One thing I love about Christmas is how beautiful the world gets. As a child, my Christmases weren’t beautiful or full of gifts. Christmas just another day to me. But now that I am a Christian, I see the beauty in Christmas day and now that I have a family, I have the opportunity to celebrate this wonderful celebration of Christ’s birth.

Day 21

“Look for the good in everyday life and share that spark with other people. You never know when someone else will need a little bit of happiness.”

– Abi –

There you go! I had so much fun with this project. If any of you are thinking about participating in the 21-day self-portrait project, you totally should! It’s worth your time. :) Have a great day!

Hey, everybody! So I was trying to do Blogmas this year but I missed a post yesterday(!!!) and so yeah, that failed. Oh well. Anyway, life has been pretty hectic this week and it’s only Tuesday. Instead of a Blogmas post, here’s a life update and a glimpse at my life as a student during the busiest week of the year. :)

So let’s see. Last weekend, I started working on a painting for my Oma. My mom thought it would be nice if I made a painting with a Dutch Prayer on it. I am about a quarter of the way done so I’d say it’s going pretty well!

Yesterday was pretty crazy too. I had school as always but you know those weeks when the teachers are like, “It’s almost the end of the quarter and I don’t have enough things in the grade book!”? Yeah, it’s that kind of week. Except I have an exam on Friday! Yay! So I was assigned a lot of homework but it all worked out because I was able to get some things done before and during school. Then, after school, I went to my induction ceremony where I was inducted into the National Art Honors Society! Fun, fun! So that means, I’ll be able to post more about art because I’ll be doing more art. The ceremony was a lot of fun. The president and vice president gave out flowers to everyone who was inducted. I loved mine! It’s so pretty! :)

Today, I woke up early to finish an essay for my Bible class but I feel really good about it so the grade should be pretty okay. Every Tuesday, my school has Chapel but because there is a Fine Arts’ Chapel tomorrow, the principal bought all of the students ice cream and played Christmas music on the intercom for 30 minutes! It was a great way to start the day! And the rest of the day was fun too. After school, I went to the dentist and it was pretty scary for me (because you know, sharp objects!) but my mom encouraged me to remember Bible verses so then I was okay.

So that was my week so far. I have a busy rest of the week ahead of me, with two quizzes, a test, and a performance tomorrow, exam reviews on Thursday and my first exam on Friday. And there are fun things too, like Christmas parties, projects, performances, and birthday parties. But, the great thing to keep in mind is that in 8 short days, all of the exams will be over. :)

I hope you all have a great day and rest of the week! Keep being happy and hopeful. :) ~Abi

Do you ever just stop and think of all the people who love you? Not like “I know them so it counts” love. I’m talking about the “I will drop anything and everything to come help you” type of love. Maybe your list would start like:

Mom

Dad

Sister

Brother

And… That’s it. And then you start to think and you come up with a few more.

Grandmom

Opa

Oma

Nanny

Dog

And then you’re like “Oh yeah!” And you add 20 more people.

BFF

Aunt

Uncle

Friends

Family friends

Sunday School leader

Nephews

Nieces

Cousins

Teachers

Pastors

And then you’re like “Wow! That’s a lot!” But there are tons of more people who love you, people you don’t even know or have never met but they are praying for you and they love you! That’s a lot of love! It can’t get better than this, can it? Yes, it can! God loves you. How much? Like, a lot. More than everyone you know could ever love you all put together!

Psalm 36:5 says that God’s love is steadfast and extends to the heavens. That’s REALLY far which means that God loves you a lot! I am so happy that we can go to God for everything and anything, knowing that He loves us and will always be there for us! It’s just one of the many things that I’m thankful for. :)

Let me know what you are most thankful for and don’t forget to follow! :)